...at one extreme, Mr McCain's slightly misreported comments about keeping American troops there [Iraq] for 100 years; at the other Mr Obama's hints at unconditional withdrawal within six months. In reality, both candidates would be seriously constrained by events on the ground.
I made that point to a liberal acquaintance flushed with Obama's victory last evening, and he was bright enough to admit (with some chagrin) that it was probably true, and that a lot of people demanding an immediate withdrawal (himself, for one) were going to find that position overtaken by events. It isn't, of course, just the limitations of the realities in the field, it's also the limitations of the office itself. Much of what both candidates promise cannot be achieved without going through Congress, and that's never a given.
The real difficulty with regard to Iran is that both candidates have expressed a preference for multilateralism that promises to paralyze any steps for policy other than endless and fruitless negotiation. I see the Europeans are once again assembling a package of offers for the mullahs and that the IAEA has expressed its indignation at - mirabile dictu! - Iran's recalcitrance with regard to open inspection. That sort of inertia ought to hold us for another couple of years. And the beat goes on.